Please start kicking the spectators on this server after a certain amount of time.

It really pisses me off when I have to sit around for 20 to 25 minutes, sometimes even longer (I've waited upwards of 35-40 minutes) to join the server only to get in, and find out there are 18 spectators most of whom are usually AFK.

It's unneccessary and pointless to keep non-active spectatos in the server, when other people want to get in to actually play.

Inability to join the server in a timely manner makes me want to play on PF's ZE server less, which is sad because I love the community.

Donators are allowed to spec, as they pay for it. Others are automaticly removed after a set period of inactivity by the AFK manager. I'm sorry for the wait you have to endure, but not everyone in spectate is afk. Some of us do use it to have fun if we decide not to play. If in the future you decide its worth it, I'd recommend buying donator, as it will give you a reserved slot and other perks so you can join the server instantly.

Donators are allowed to spec, as they pay for it. Others are automaticly removed after a set period of inactivity by the AFK manager. I'm sorry for the wait you have to endure, but not everyone in spectate is afk. Some of us do use it to have fun if we decide not to play. If in the future you decide its worth it, I'd recommend buying donator, as it will give you a reserved slot and other perks so you can join the server instantly.

As well as when you join the server with donor status, you kick one of the greedy bastards that are AFK'ing in spectate WITHOUT donor perks.

idk how the AFK-Man really works because it's often to see people kicked for "Donor Slot" and idk how's the algorithm behind it.

but I agree that being afk for too long in spectate is bad even for admins,donors and roots because it just feels wrong. too long meaning you're afking to cook a meal that is not one of Jamie Oliver's 15 minute-meals.

Only LSA+ can clear afk specs. The AFK Manager merely moves afk people to spectate.

Sorry that is wrong. I have witnessed my self being Spec after less than 5mins being AFK many times. It clearly does its job, but the OP probably had bad luck having all active specs or all being donators

We can try something even simpler... the AFK manager works fine for me. Kyle, leave the AFK Manager as is where it moves people to spectator after a few minutes of inactivity but, let it also kick spectators if they've been there for an arbitrary interval of time.

For example, a person is AFK, he gets moved to spec after five minutes. Then he stays in spectator for 60 minutes without activity. Then the AFK Manager kicks him from spectator. This allows ample time for someone who went afk for several minutes or an hour to eat or whatever they are occupied with and still have their reserved spot. This ofcourse, will only kick people that are inactive, and not people who are just watching other people play. It will be fair to both our donators and the people of our community.

Sorry that is wrong. I have witnessed my self being Spec after less than 5mins being AFK many times. It clearly does its job, but the OP probably had bad luck having all active specs or all being donators

I think she means removing spectators from the server.

Player goes AFK----->AFKman moves to spectate----->LSA+ clears spectators from server freeing more slots up

It really pisses me off when I have to sit around for 20 to 25 minutes, sometimes even longer (I've waited upwards of 35-40 minutes) to join the server only to get in, and find out there are 18 spectators most of whom are usually AFK.

You're probably stretching that number a lot, spectators don't have to play the game if they don't want they can simply watch and enjoy seeing the fail or win occur during the maps. If you don't want to wait to play during peak times then get donor other than that you will have to wait.

Also clearafks seems to get rid of specs that are actually there and not afk just an fyi. Probably why Brian doesn't want it being used as much also.

Sorry that is wrong. I have witnessed my self being Spec after less than 5mins being AFK many times. It clearly does its job, but the OP probably had bad luck having all active specs or all being donators

You would probably still sound attractive Repeat again! After all, this thread is a repeat. I'm open to new ideas. I agree a certain time frame should kick specs that are clearly inactive even if they donate or are admins; it's not like kicking an inactive person would infringe our benefits as they are inactive.

But, I can understand why management wouldn't want to kick any donators or admin spectators - its a perk they strongly believe belongs to the donator or admin. If they removed it, who knows, maybe we will have a weekly "don't kick donator or admin" thread every week too lol.

Kyle has an idea we're going to toy with to ensure both donors and regular players cannot sit in spectate for extended periods of time if they are AFK, hence his vague "Soon" post. I suggest you all save your time debating this subject as there will be changes coming soon.

While what we consider soon may not be what you consider soon, we haven't lost sight of this. I know at least a good chunk of Kyle's time lately has been spent on preparing our servers for the move to SteamPipe, and ensuring everything is going to work (hopefully) once that update hits. Needing to be as prepared as possible for those upcoming changes put it at the top of the priority list to ensure we're not completely broken. Currently he's visiting family in the states so I wouldn't expect any changes very soon. We've been aware that AFK spectators can be an issue and as mentioned are working on a smart automated way to handle AFK's in spectate when the server is full. It should prevent players from staying in spectate for extended periods of time if they are actually AFK. It'll be able to differentiate from real AFK and those watching. I'm sure some of you might have some questions in regard to how it's going to work exactly, under what conditions, and so forth, but I'll save those details for now since a few still need to be worked out. When that behavior is introduced you'll be notified and details of how it works will be posted. We'll put it through the paces and tweak it if we have to.

As others have mentioned if you never want to wait to join you can obtain a donator subscription. LSA's and Roots will continue to clear afk's at peak hours / on popular maps when the server has been full and there's a chunk of spectators.

Seeing as the change to Steam| was pushed today, I took it upon myself to fix this and make everyone hate me once more. You're going to be presented with a menu, with random items, and asked a question about which option is a colour. Failing to pick the correct answer will result in a horrible fate, you will be kicked. This will only occur if the server is full, and if you've been idle for quite sometime. This doesn't discriminate, everyone, including myself, can be kicked by it if we idle too long. Once the problem of 20 spectators gets under control, the settings can be made more lax. However, at the moment, AFKMan owns everyone, including myself.